H4715 H4715
a crucible or refining pot used to purify silver through intense heat
This noun appears twice in Proverbs as part of parallel wisdom sayings about testing and refining. 'The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts' (17:3). 'The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and a man is tested by his praise' (27:21). The crucible (maṣrēp̱) is the vessel for refining silver, using high heat to separate precious metal from dross. The proverbs use this metallurgical process as metaphor: just as silver's quality is proven in the crucible, so human character is tested—by God or by how one handles praise.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A crucible or refining pot for purifying silver. Both Proverbs texts pair 'crucible for silver' with 'furnace for gold,' establishing a metallurgical parallel before making a theological point. The crucible applies intense heat to melt metal and separate impurities, a process requiring skill and producing purity. This becomes an apt metaphor for divine or human testing that reveals true character. The Spanish 'crisol' precisely names this implement. The refining imagery runs throughout Scripture as a symbol of purifying judgment and character formation. 2×
AR["بَوْتَقَةٌ", "بُوتَقَةٌ"]·ben["মূষা"]·DE["von-laeuterte"]·EN["a-crucible", "refining-pot"]·FR["מצרף"]·heb["מצרף"]·HI["कुटाली", "कुठाली"]·ID["Kowi"]·IT["refining-pot", "un-crucible"]·jav["kowi"]·KO["도가니가", "도가니는"]·PT["Cadinho", "Crisol"]·RU["плавильня"]·ES["Crisol"]·SW["chungu", "chungu-la-kusafishia"]·TR["pota"]·urd["کٹورا", "کٹھالی"]
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַצְרֵף n.[m.] crucible (proposes place or instrument of refining); מ׳ לַכֶּסֶף וְכוּר לַזָּהָב Pr 17:3; 27:21.